Telangana Assembly adjourns briefly amid uproar over Governor’s address
Hyderabad: The Telangana Assembly witnessed pandemonium on Thursday and Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar was forced to adjourn the session for 15 minutes amid protests and counter-allegations.
The House witnessed heated exchanges as the BRS MLAs clashed with ruling Congress members over the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor’s address.
As soon as Government Whip Adi Srinivas introduced the motion for debate, the BRS MLA and former Minister Jagadish Reddy said the Governor’s speech reportedly contained the ruling party’s false promises. He added that the Governor did not read the speech wholeheartedly as the ruling party failed to deliver its promises to people and yet mentioned them in his address.
The BRS legislator also questioned the implementation of welfare schemes such as the Maha Lakshmi scheme and farmer loan waivers.
However, the former minister’s verbal attack did not sit well with the treasury benches and they raised a hue and cry over his remarks. Responding to the BRS leader’s allegations, Adi Srinivas asserted that the Congress government had waived off loans worth Rs 21,000 crore and was successfully implementing free electricity up to 200 units for the poor.
Subsequently, Minister Komatireddy Venkatareddy took the floor and recalled the promises of the previous BRS government such as granting three acres of land to Dalits and providing double-bedroom houses and asked whether the opposition party fulfilled promises while they were in power.
As the situation escalated, Assembly Speaker Gaddam Prasad Kumar intervened and asked the members to adhere to the discussion on the Governor’s address. He warned both sides to maintain decorum of the House.
Later, Legislative Affairs Minister Sridhar Babu demanded that Jagadish Reddy withdraw his comments. He argued that disrespecting the Speaker was an insult to the House. He informed the House that the ruling Congress government had achieved in 14 months what the previous administration could not accomplish in a decade.
The Congress members protested and demanded an apology from Jagadish Reddy over his remarks on the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor’s address. As the members engaged in heated exchanges, the Speaker Prasad Kumar adjourned the House for 15 minutes to restore order.
